Shasta Lake halts local water use restrictions; could Redding be next?

Two North State cities are rolling back water use restrictions started a year ago, thanks to weeks of massive rain and snow that have replenished Lake Shasta and prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to reduce some of the state's drought emergency rules.

On Monday, Shasta Lake City Manager Jessaca Lugo announced the city's water shortage contingency plan had been reduced to its least restrictive level and that drought rates to customers had been removed.

Then on Thursday, citing a 100% water allocation from state water regulators — up from 75% prior on the heels of more rain and snow — Shasta Lake announced it was no longer in any stage of its water shortage contingency plan. "This is good news for all!" said Tony Thomasy, the city's water utility specialist said in a statement.

In early April, the Redding City Council will take up the issue.

The state mandated that all water agencies enact level 2 voluntary conservation efforts in March 2022. Individual cities had to implement those plans.

The governor’s announcement in late March called the order "responsive to current conditions while preserving smart water measures," since the recent wave of storms eased the drought in some regions while other communities continue to experience water supply shortages because they rely on groundwater supplies that have been severely depleted in recent years.

'Going to be a great year'

The state order ends the voluntary 15% water conservation target as well as the requirement that local water agencies implement level 2 of their drought contingency plans.

"We went from Stage 2 to Stage 1 because we received a 75% allocation from the federal government," said Tony Thomasy, Shasta Lake's water utility specialist. He said that compares to just 25% allocations from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which controls water allocations to numerous agencies in Northern California, during the prior two "water years," which run from the beginning of March to the end of February.

"Obviously, the last couple of years, where allocations have been very low, we've had to purchase a lot of expensive water to help our customers," said Thomasy.

That isn't the case since water allocations to Shasta Lake from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation were bolstered to 100%, on top of rising rainfall and snow levels. The city had not received a 100% water allocation from the federal Bureau of Reclamation since 2019, Thomasy said.

Customers are still being encouraged to conserve.

During the peak of last summer's drought, when Shasta Lake urged households to cut lawn watering to three days a week and take other conservation measures, customers' water use fell by 20%, said Thomasy.

'Can't imagine any restrictions'

Redding water officials will bring the issue of easing their drought emergency rules to the City Council on April 18, Water Utility Manager Josh Watkins said.

Redding put its current Stage 2 water restrictions in place in May 2022. City staff will ask the council to move to Stage 1 restrictions, said Watkins.

Federal water allocation to Redding was also cut last year, said Watkins. "We needed to move to Stage 2 just to help make sure to give us that extra cushion to make sure that we had enough water," he said. "Last year was the first time where it was debatable whether we actually had enough water, so going to Stage 2 was necessary. Going to Stage 2 was also required by the state, so that made it simple."

Watkins said Redding has been told it will receive a 100% water allocation this year. "I can't imagine any restrictions that would be necessary this summer. It will depend on what next winter is like that determines how we'll move forward," he said. "You never know what you're going to get."

There was a 10% to 20% reduction in Redding's available water supply from the state after the city moved into the second phase of Redding's conservation plan.

Redding purchased water from the McConnell Foundation and the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District last year, in addition to enacting Stage 2 water conservation efforts that limit lawn watering and car washing, among other measures. "Between those purchases and the conservation effort, we had enough water" to make it through the year, Watkins said.

Early in 2022, when supply was more abundant, Redding sold some of its water to Bella Vista, near Palo Cedro, and to Centerville, near Fresno.

Even with the eased drought emergency rules, some actions remain prohibited under a set of permanent water use restrictions.

Continuing use prohibitions statewide include hosing off sidewalks and driveways, washing automobiles using hoses not equipped with a shut-off nozzle, watering lawns within 48 hours of "measurable precipitation" and watering ornamental grass on commercial properties.

Michele Chandler covers criminal justice issues for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Follow her on Twitter at @MChandler_RS, call her at 530-338-7753 or email her at michele.chandler@redding.com. Please support our entire newsroom's commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta Lake ends local water use restrictions; will Redding be next?